Stop positioning scales for buckle type sheet folding machines



IN 54/16 /5 jg? 4.5/707/78/ ATTORN EY Filed Nov. 22, 1950 United StatesPatent 6 STOP POSITIONING SCALES FOR BUCKLE TYPE SHEET FOLDING MACHINESFrancis J. Rouan, Darien, and John A. Strother, Stamford, Conn.,assignors to Pitney-Bowes, Inc., Stamford, Conn., a corporation ofDelaware paper, etc., by machine.

It has been known to provide sheet folders, particularly for foldingletters, in which a sheet of paper is fed into the folding apparatus,and a transverse fold is made in the sheet, or two or more transversefolds are made in rapid succession. Since not all sheets require foldingat the same place, it is customary to provide settable elements by meansof which the machine can be adjusted to provide the fold lines at anydesired location, sometimes in cooperation with indicators and scalesfor showing the extent of each fold length which will be produced.

Machines of the foregoing type usually have the disadvantage that acertain amount of skill and care are required in setting up the machineso that the appropriate fold lengths will occur in the proper order. Aclerk who is unacquainted with the structure and operating sequence ofthe machine parts, will often find it a confusing problem to determinewhich fold length setting should be made on any particular indicatingscale. Even though the scales may be denominated with legends relatingthem to a corresponding folding step, e. g. first, second, etc., thesignificance of such a designation is readily overlooked by the usualclerk, with the result that the machine is sometimes set up incorrectly.When this occurs there is likely to be a significant waste due to theproduction of a large number of improperly folded sheets before theincorrect setting is discovered, in addition to the time required by theoperator to reconsider the problem and make a new setting of themachine.

It is an object of this invention to provide a folding machine having aplurality of setting indicators for indicating the fold lengths ofsuccessive folds, in which there is also provided means for ascertainingthe proper fold length setting by comparison of a prefolded samplefacsimile with a conveniently located test scale. It is a feature of theinvention that the test scale is so located on the side of the sheetsupply holder that it is within easy reach of the control means foradjusting the fold length whereby the test sample may be measured withone of the operators hands while the setting of the macltzline is beingsimultaneously accomplished with the er.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a plurality of testscales arrayed in a particular relationship indicating their order ofuse so that the natural inclination of the operator will induce him touse the first scale first, the second scale second, etc., in measuringthe succession of fold lengths on the test sample. These scales areprovided with designating colors, preferably contrasting, and similardesignating colors are applied to the scales which cooperate with thesetting indicators. In this way, due to the graphic correspondencebetween the indicator scales and the test scales, a first fold lengthmeasurement will be taken using the first test scale, and transferred tothe appropriate setting indicator due to their similarity in appearance,with a similar procedure being followed for each of the other foldlengths.

It is another object of the invention to provide a plurality of testscales arrayed in a natural relationship tending to indicate their orderof use, and to provide an equalnumber of control members for making thesettings for the various folds, the control members being positioned inan array corresponding to that of the test scales, so that ameasurement, taken on the most prominent scale in the array, is set upby using the control member similarly disposed in its array, and, whensimilar corresponding tests and settings are made using the other testscales and control members, the machine will be properly set up toproduce the desired folds in the desired order.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a folding machineso arranged that the advantages of each of the foregoing objects will beachieved in combination with the advantages to be derived fromapplication of each or all of the other objects.

A machine constructed in accordance with the objects aforesaid will beso simple and direct to set up, that waste due to improper setting ofthe fold lengths will be largely avoided, even when operated by personsof limited experience.

A novel feature of this invention is the hereindescribed method ofadjusting the machine according to a prefolded test sample or facsimilehaving fold lines indicated thereon.

Additional features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the followingdrawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partially in section of thefolding machine of this invention, with housing removed, illustratingthe means for adjusting the buckle stops;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the entire machine to a reduced scaleand illustrating one step in the setting of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to a portion of Fig. 2and illustrating another step in the setting of the machine; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of one wall of the sheet supply holderwith the fold measuring scales thereon.

The invention is shown for convenience as applied to a buckle typefolding machine, which includes a base 10 and end housings 12 and 14. Asheet supply holder 16, including an adjustable guide 17, is mountedbetween the end housings for holding a stack of unfolded sheets inposition to present the same to a feed mechanism 18 of knownconstruction, which feed mechanism removes one sheet at a time from thetop of the supply and thrusts the leading edge of the sheet forward intothe folding mechanism.

The folding mechanism includes a driven center roller 20, an upperroller 22, a rear roller 24, and a lower roller 26, the latter three allresiliently urged in a known manner towards the roller 20. A series ofspaced guide strips 28 are opposed and slightly spaced from a similarseries of spaced guide strips 30 to form an upper curved buckle chute32. Similar series of guide strips 34 and 36 provide a lower curvedbuckle chute 38. As can be seen in Fig. 2, each pair of strips 28, 30 ishorizontally spaced from the adjacent pairs of strips so that the bucklechute is in fact discontinuous across the machine. The structure of thelower buckle chute will, of course, be similarly discontinuous. Themachine is arranged with upper and lower buckle stop arms designatedgenerally at 40 and 42, which arms extend between said strip pairs 28,30 and 34, 36. The upper buckle stop arms 40 lie between the adjacentstrip pairs 28, 30 of the upper buckle chute 32, while the lower bucklestop arms 42 lie in a similar fashion between the adjacent strip pairs34, 36 of the lower buckle chute 38.

All of the upper buckle stop arms 40 are suitably mounted for concurrentswinging movement about a common axis and move together with gearsegment 44 and attached pointer 46 under the control of worm 48 operatedby finger'wheel 50. Similarly all of the lower buckle stop arms 42 aresuitably mountedfor concurrent swinging movement about the same axis andmove together with gear segment 52 and attached pointer 54 under thecontrol of worm 56 operated by finger wheel 58. A dial member 60 carriesa pair of arcuate scales 62 and 64 for cooperation with the pointers 46and 54 respectively to indicate, preferably by numbers, the fold lengthsfor which the buckle stops are set.

Thus when an unfolded sheet is fed forward by the feed mechanism 18, itis grasped in the nip of the roller pair 20, 22, and the leading edge iscarried into the upper buckle chute 32 until it strikes the stop arms40. Thereupon, due to the continued feed by rollers 20, 22, the sheetbuckles into the nip of roller pair 20, 24. which then feed the sheet,fold first, into the lower buckle chute 38 until the lower stop arms,positioned as represented by stop 42, Fig. l. are encountered. Continuedfeeding of the sheet by roller pair 20, 24 results in the buckling ofthe sheet into the nip of roller pair 20, 26 where the sheet is againfolded and fed outwardly to stacking belts 66 which transport the foldedsheets to a collecting station 68, shown in Fig. 2, or to a locationwhere some subsequent operation may be automatically performed thereon.

The fold lengths produced in the upper and lower buckling operations aredetermined by the settings of the upper stop arms 40, and the lower stoparms corresponding to arm 42 respectively. Upper stop arm settings areindicated on the scale 62, while the settings of the lower stop armsregister on the scale 64. The graduations of these scales are notnecessarily uniform, nor do they necessarilv represent direct linearmeasurements, but need only be such as to indicate the length of fold.preferably by number. produced by the corresponding location of therelated buckle stop.

Mounted on the operators side of the sheet supply holder 16 is a scale70. This scale is so arranged that the operator can take a sample sheet.for example, one

folded by hand. and can measure the fold lengths against the scale withone hand while making an appropriate setting of the buckle s ops withthe other. using finger Wheels and 58. as illustrated generally in Fig.2.

In the preferred form of the invention there are two scales 70. 72mounted on the side of the sheet supply holder 16. These scales are ofdifferent and distinctive colors. preferably contrasting. As used in thepresent description and in the subioined claims. the term color will beunderstood to mean any characteristic surface marking or desi natingsystem which makes one surface area distin uishable from an ther byvisual perception of its quality. As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, theupper scale is light in color and the lower dark. The scales accordinglyhave a natural order which an o erator will normally use without mentaleffort, i. e. it will be found to be a natural operation to measure thefirst fold length of a sample sheet 74 against the upper light coloredscale. as illustrated in Fig. 3. and. if a second fold is to be made.

to measure the second fold length agai st the lower dark other hand. andwill be made by using the wheel 59 or 58 which corres ond in position tothe scale being used. Said wheel setting also produces movement of anassociated pointer adjacent the scale of the same color as the testscale against which the measurement is being taken. The wheels 50, 58,are also preferably colored to correspond with the test scales withwhich they coact. Thus. when the left hand of the operator makes thefirst fold measurement against the up er scale, as shown in Fig. 3. theright hand will gravitate naturally to the upper wheel 50, and theoperator will visually and without conscious effort check the proprietyof the setting o eration by a subconscious and automatic com arison fthe colors of scales 70 and 62. and of wheel 50. Similarl when the lowerscale 72 is being used to determine the second fold length as shown inFig. 2. the operators right hand will normally fall upon the lowercontrol wheel 58 as sho n. and the fact that the proper stops are beingset will be automatically checked and confirmed by the subconsciousvisual com ariso between the colors of scales 72 and 64, and of wheel58.

In the foregoin manner. the operators motions in setting up the machinecan be made to follow a simple normal routine which will of itselfinduce proper set up of the machine and which offers automatic checkslikely to make the operator discover any inadvertence on his parttending towards the making of an incorrect setting.

Correctness of the setting up of the machine by the operator is ofimportance by reason of the fact that an incorrectly folded sheet willoften fail to show up through cursory visual inspection, and will bediscovered only 1f the folded sheet is first opened up. For example, oneordinary letter folding procedure uses a first fold slightly shorterthan the second fold to provide wrap-around room without buckling theinner or first fold length. If these lengths were to be inadvertentlyreversed, the final folded sheet would be defective, either due to ashort fold at the head of the first length, or possibly due to a doublecrease between the first and second lengths. Many sheets could easily befolded before this defect was discovered causing serious waste of thecirculars, letters or other printed matter or sheets being treated. Bysubstantially forestalling such eventualities the present inventionprovides an important enhancement of the value and convenience offolding machines.

The method of adjusting the machine according to the present inventionis both simple and convenient and involves merely preparing a test sheet74 by creasing or marking the same to provide transverse fold lines atthe desired points, placing such a test sheet against the scale 70, withthe first fold line 76 against a predetermined datum or zero mark, asshown in Fig. 3, reading the indication on the scale opposite theleading edge 78 of the sheet, and setting this reading or indication onthe scale 62 associated with stop means 40 for controlling the firstfolding step by operating the wheel 50. Similarly, the second fold line80 is then placed on the predetermined datum or zero mark of the lowerscale 72, the indication opposite the first fold line 76 is noted, andis then set on scale 64 using the wheel 58.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention is described inlanguage which is rather specific as to structural features andarrangements, it is to be understood that the invention is not limitedto the specific details shown, but that the means herein disclosedcomprises the preferred of several modes of putting the invention intoeffect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms ormodifications within the scope of the language employed in the appendedclaims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a buckle-type chute folding machine having a casing, a feed-tableat one end of the casing, buckle chutes at the other end of the casing,adjustable foldcontrolling stops in the chutes, fingerpieces accessiblethrough one side of the casing for adjusting said stops, there being afirst fold fingerpiece and a second fold fingerpiece, and a scale andpointer unit coordinated with each of said fingerpieces and locatedadjacent thereto to be viewed together; a pair of fold-measuring scales,there being a first fold-measuring scale and a second fold-measuringscale, said scales being mounted adjacent the feedtable on the same sideof the machine as said fingerpieces and scale and pointer units, and insuch close proximity thereto that a sample folded sheet may be held byone hand of the operator against said fold-measuring scales while thefingers of the other hand of the operator are in position to operatesaid fingerpieces, said fold-measuring scales being located on themachine in such position that said measuring scales, the fingerpiecesand the stop scales and pointer units will be in the range of theoperators vision simultaneously, the stop scales of the scale andpointer units each having individually designated division marksindicating fold-forming positions in said stops, and said fold-measuringscales each having corresponding individually designated division marksagainst which the sample folded sheet is placed to indicate the positionto which the stop pointer and scale unit should be adjusted to producedesired folds in duplication of those in the sample sheet, the firstfold-measuring scale, the first fold fingerpiece and the first foldpointer and scale unit having a common characteristic appearancedistinguishably different from the common characteristic appearance ofthe second fold-measuring scale, the second fold fingerpiece and thesecond fold pointer and scale unit.

2. In a buckle-type chute folding machine having a casing, a feed-tableat one end of the casing, buckle chutes at the other end of the casing,adjustable foldcontrolling stops in the chutes, fingerpieces accessiblethrough one side of the casing for adjusting said stops, there being afirst fold fingerpiece and a second fold fingerpiece, and a scale andpointer unit coordinated with each of said fingerpieces and locatedadjacent thereto to be viewed together; a pair of fold-measuring scales,there being a first fold-measuring scale and a second foldmeasuringscale, said scales being vertically mounted on the feed-table on thesame side of the machine as said fingerpieces and scale and pointerunits, and in such close proximity thereto that a sample folded sheetmay be held by one hand of the operator against said foldmeasuringscales While the fingers of the other hand of the operator are inposition to operate said fingerpieces, said fold-measuring scales beinglocated on the machine in such position that said measuring scales, thefingerpieces and the stop scales and pointer units will be in the rangeof the operators vision simultaneously, the stop scales of the scale andpointer units each having individually designated division marksindicating fold-forming positions in said stops, and said fold-measuringscales each having corresponding individually designated division marksagainst which the sample folded sheet is placed to indicate the positionto which the stop pointer and scale unit should be adjusted to producedesired folds References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,151,015 Johnson Aug. 24, 1915 2,414,386 Olson Jan. 14, 19472,461,214 Holmes Feb. 8, 1949 2,492,887 Rainey Dec. 27, 1949 2,516,613Bray July 25, 1950 2,589,436 Rouan et al Mar. 18. 1952

